Athlete of the Week

When Peter Grote, SM '02, takes to the court, the Brady Squash Center fills up like the basement of the Zeta Psi house on a Saturday night for heated beer pong matches. Instead of yelling for more beer, however, his fraternity brothers can be heard commenting, "Wow, I didn't realize this was a real sport."

LAURIE RANDELL/YH Peter Grote, SM '02 Men's squash Hometown: St. Louis, Mo. Height: 5' 10" Major: History Favorite movie: Scarface Favorite song: "The Valley Road," by Bruce Hornsby Favorite sport besides squash: Football Favorite sport to play besides squash: Beer pong Favorite New Haven restaurant: Louis' Lunch

Grote has fans, and he plays his heart out for them. He admits that the typical frat guy doesn't know what he's talking about during a squash match, but Grote says he's able to block it out and concentrate. Fortunately, his opponents don't have the same ability, especially those from Princeton. Perhaps they're not used to the support that Yale men's squash gathers. As a freshman, Grote won an important match at the No. 6 spot, clinching a home victory against Princeton, 5-4. The Tigers coach wanted to file a complaint, claiming that his players couldn't compete with the frat boy heckling. Nice try.

For the rest of Yale, Princeton may not matter, but for men's squash, it does—a lot. The match is the biggest of the season, and despite Grote's win at the No. 2 spot against Will Evans '03, Yale lost to Princeton 4-5 in regular Ivy competition three weeks ago. But that win certainly stands out—Coach Dave Talbott calls it "the biggest upset in the league all year." On paper, Evans was expected to win easily. Talbott credits part of the win to the surprise factor; Evans wasn't expecting Grote to compete at his level.

However, Evans can't use surprise as his excuse when explaining his loss to Grote last Sun., Feb. 25—the loss that gave the match and a third place national finish to Yale. Grote was down 0-2 and "getting hammered," Talbott remembered. Grote's ability to turn the match around shows just what kind of squash player he is. "It was the biggest upset I've seen in my 18 years of coaching," Talbott said. "Grote elevated his game tremendously."

How did this former football and lacrosse player end up playing squash? Grote credits his devotion to the game to his mentor Howard Stephens and Coach Charlie Kahn at the Racquet Club in St. Louis, and to his love of one-on-one competition. Grote compares it to boxing. "The constant back and forth action where you have to be smart as well as physically fit," he said.

Quick to share his success, Grote credits his team for making it worthwhile. "It's lucky we have such a great team and group of guys," he said. And a team isn't complete without its coach, whom Grote also credits for his love of the game. "I couldn't see myself enjoying squash as much as I do with another coach," he added.

If you're still not convinced that squash is a worthwhile sport, come watch Grote, and you'll be wearing white soled shoes before the week is over.

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